Key points:Throughout the ages,rule of law has been an indispensable means of governing a state.However,as General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out,it is not enough to govern a state by the rule of law
Everyone is living with two hearts.One is controlled by the social rules and moral standards while the other is possessed by wild fantasies that go against the conventions.The first may be called reason and the second...Everyone is living with two hearts.One is controlled by the social rules and moral standards while the other is possessed by wild fantasies that go against the conventions.The first may be called reason and the second inner passion.More often than not people try to behave as good and normal as the society expects them to be but keep a tight lid on their feelings that do not fit in the moral requirements.Struggling between the two,a lot of writers have delved into the discussion of the humanity division,attempting to seek for the wholeness of humanity again.Chopin and Melville are without exception.Their characters-Edna and IshmaelAhab are all beings with split minds and fragmentary personalities.Through frustrations and determinations,those characters demonstrate the sorrows of incomplete humanity and lead readers to aware their own incompleteness,think about the issue seriously and make up their mind to pursuit the wholeness of their soul.展开更多
Responding to comments of my recent book, Understanding the Analects of Confucius, by Huang Yong, Fan Ruiping, and Wang Qingjie, this paper looks to highlight one of its major features--that it is a contemporary conti...Responding to comments of my recent book, Understanding the Analects of Confucius, by Huang Yong, Fan Ruiping, and Wang Qingjie, this paper looks to highlight one of its major features--that it is a contemporary continuation of the Chinese tradition of doing commentary both as a way of allowing classic texts to unfold their rich meanings in the context of different times, and as a way for the commentator to express his or her own views. It strives to explain how a gongfu reconstruction of Confucianism can explain the apparent inconsistency between advocating rule-like instructions next to its encouragement of the art of flexibility, and to reveal what is more fundamental about Confucianism--rather than a system of rigid moral rules, it is an art of life. This gongfu interpretation would lead to the view that Confucianism does not depend on metaphysical truths as its justification, although it does need to hold metaphysical views as a way of affirming its values, which are justified through the excellence of life to which they lead. While the gongfu approach more accurately reflects Confucius＇ own philosophical orientation, and it is therefore used to determine technical details such as what interpretations to put into translation of a text and what interpretations to list in the annotations as alternatives, it is, in the author＇s humble view, also a unique contribution that the Chinese tradition can offer to world philosophy.展开更多
This essay provides a few critical points of view on Ni Peimin＇s recent English translation of the Analects. It shows that his translations of ren into ＂human-heartedness＂ and of li into ＂ritual propriety＂ may in...This essay provides a few critical points of view on Ni Peimin＇s recent English translation of the Analects. It shows that his translations of ren into ＂human-heartedness＂ and of li into ＂ritual propriety＂ may indicate a willingness to recast these Confucian concepts in the modern ideology of western subjectivism or individualism, whereas Confucianism is not in the direction of such ideologies. Moreover, while Ni seems to offer a ＂no-rule＂ view of Confucian virtue ethics, he cannot deny the existence of moral rules and principles in the Confucian system. It is insufficient for him to emphasize the importance of Confucian ＂instructions＂ or ＂methods＂ as he does without explicating their relations to Confucian rules. Additionally, Ni＇s gongfu Confucianism provides a necessary and healthy step back from the contemporary principlism that has been dominant and popular in contemporary politics, ethics, and applied ethics, but Ni goes too far in denying the importance of the moral rules and principles that are implicit or explicit in the Confucian ritual practices and upheld in Confucius＇s Analects.展开更多
文摘Key points:Throughout the ages,rule of law has been an indispensable means of governing a state.However,as General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out,it is not enough to govern a state by the rule of law
文摘Everyone is living with two hearts.One is controlled by the social rules and moral standards while the other is possessed by wild fantasies that go against the conventions.The first may be called reason and the second inner passion.More often than not people try to behave as good and normal as the society expects them to be but keep a tight lid on their feelings that do not fit in the moral requirements.Struggling between the two,a lot of writers have delved into the discussion of the humanity division,attempting to seek for the wholeness of humanity again.Chopin and Melville are without exception.Their characters-Edna and IshmaelAhab are all beings with split minds and fragmentary personalities.Through frustrations and determinations,those characters demonstrate the sorrows of incomplete humanity and lead readers to aware their own incompleteness,think about the issue seriously and make up their mind to pursuit the wholeness of their soul.
文摘Responding to comments of my recent book, Understanding the Analects of Confucius, by Huang Yong, Fan Ruiping, and Wang Qingjie, this paper looks to highlight one of its major features--that it is a contemporary continuation of the Chinese tradition of doing commentary both as a way of allowing classic texts to unfold their rich meanings in the context of different times, and as a way for the commentator to express his or her own views. It strives to explain how a gongfu reconstruction of Confucianism can explain the apparent inconsistency between advocating rule-like instructions next to its encouragement of the art of flexibility, and to reveal what is more fundamental about Confucianism--rather than a system of rigid moral rules, it is an art of life. This gongfu interpretation would lead to the view that Confucianism does not depend on metaphysical truths as its justification, although it does need to hold metaphysical views as a way of affirming its values, which are justified through the excellence of life to which they lead. While the gongfu approach more accurately reflects Confucius＇ own philosophical orientation, and it is therefore used to determine technical details such as what interpretations to put into translation of a text and what interpretations to list in the annotations as alternatives, it is, in the author＇s humble view, also a unique contribution that the Chinese tradition can offer to world philosophy.
文摘This essay provides a few critical points of view on Ni Peimin＇s recent English translation of the Analects. It shows that his translations of ren into ＂human-heartedness＂ and of li into ＂ritual propriety＂ may indicate a willingness to recast these Confucian concepts in the modern ideology of western subjectivism or individualism, whereas Confucianism is not in the direction of such ideologies. Moreover, while Ni seems to offer a ＂no-rule＂ view of Confucian virtue ethics, he cannot deny the existence of moral rules and principles in the Confucian system. It is insufficient for him to emphasize the importance of Confucian ＂instructions＂ or ＂methods＂ as he does without explicating their relations to Confucian rules. Additionally, Ni＇s gongfu Confucianism provides a necessary and healthy step back from the contemporary principlism that has been dominant and popular in contemporary politics, ethics, and applied ethics, but Ni goes too far in denying the importance of the moral rules and principles that are implicit or explicit in the Confucian ritual practices and upheld in Confucius＇s Analects.
